New Videos and Website Aimed at Fueling Public Climate Engagement, Including a Call to Reject the Proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

NEW YORK (September 16, 2013) – Robert Redford and an array of prominent voices are calling on Americans to demand clean energy and reject dirty fuels with a particular plea that President Obama deny the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, as part of a new high profile climate action campaign debuting today.

Redford is joined on the DemandCleanPower.org website debuting today by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, environmental advocate Van Jones, Buddhist leader Jack Kornfield and singer Carole King, who all stress that the United States must move beyond heavily-polluting oil, coal, tar sands and fracking in favor of cleaner choices like renewable and energy efficient technologies.

"If you ask me, tar sands oil is exactly the type of dirty oil we can no longer afford. It may be great for oil companies, but it is killing our planet," Redford says in a blog post released with launch of the campaign. "President Obama has promised to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline if it will drive significantly more global warming pollution and more climate chaos. We have clear and compelling evidence that the Keystone XL fails the President’s climate test.”

Redford, the iconic actor, environmentalist, and NRDC trustee, is taking center stage in the new climate action initiative from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). DemandCleanPower.org – launching in a critical week of debate over climate and clean energy in the nation's capital—features videos from Redford and other well-known public figures. Together, they are calling for the public to join the growing movement against dirty fossil fuels, and in favor of a clean energy future.

The website’s initial spotlight is on the video from Redford speaking out against the growing development of tar sands oil, the dirtiest oil on the planet, and the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

“We already know that tar sands development causes more carbon pollution than conventional oil. And now a slew of experts from industry insiders to financial analysts all agree that the Keystone XL is the linchpin for Big Oil’s plan to more than triple tar sands production over the next 20 years -- and the climate disruption that will follow,” Redford says.

His message ends with a call to arms that makes clear the stark choices facing the United States: “The saner choice is clean energy. But we’re not going to get it unless millions of us demand it. So please join me in saying no to tar sands oil, and yes to clean energy.”

The new site has three central areas of focus: Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline; Rein in Dangerous Fracking; and Keep Big Oil Out of the Arctic.

"DemandCleanPower.org brings together an array of respected voices and the power of online activism to help defeat Keystone XL and win a clean energy future," said NRDC International Program Director Susan Casey-Lefkowitz.

DemandCleanPower.org helps kick off what some Washington D.C. insiders are terming "Climate Week," with two Congressional hearings on climate change, the expected introduction of federal standards on carbon emissions from new power plants, and a weekend full of anti-Keystone XL tar sands pipeline actions to be held throughout the country.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.